


DH Project: Q

by Saori (Kalista)



Category: Neon Genesis Evangelion, Pocket Monsters SPECIAL | Pokemon Adventures
Genre: Angst, Multi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-10-21
Updated: 2013-11-01
Packaged: 2017-12-30 17:57:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 4
Words: 3,642
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1021675
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kalista/pseuds/Saori
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Silver awakens in an unknown place, surrounded by unknown people who all seem to resent him.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Part 01

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [DH Project](https://archiveofourown.org/works/1021768) by [Teenka (Kalista)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kalista/pseuds/Teenka). 



> This is a Bad End hypothesis for DH Project (which I am currently in the process of translating in English). It combines DH Project's cast and backstory and Rebuild of Evangelion 3.0's plot. Reading DH Project first may or may not be necessary (I am trying to make the story work either way).
> 
> Expect a lot of angst.
> 
> Heavy spoilers warning for DH Project, Neon Genesis Evangelion and Rebuild of Evangelion.

He feels cold air entering his throat and reflexively gasps, before opening his eyes.

"Cardiopulmonary function is normal," a girl’s voice says somewhere to his left. "No anomaly is discernible. Yes, he has opened his eyes."

There is an unfamiliar ceiling above him again. That one is moving. He must be on a stretcher of sorts. He tries to sit up, and realizes his body is firmly tied to the stretcher by a metallic structure.

A young female enters his sight, an intrigued expression painted on her face. She’s looking in his direction, but there is a certain distance in her eyes, a distance that keeps him from connecting to her as a human.

"Do you understand what I am saying?" she asks.

"Where… am I?" he slowly replies, his mind still adapting to his current surroundings.

"He is able to talk," she calmly states while leaving his field of vision, ignoring his question. "His consciousness has returned."

"Wasn’t I… saving Blue…"

"Yes," the girl resumes, "his memory seems to be intact."

"Um… where’s Blue?"

She looks at him again, and produces a mirror. “Do you know who this person is?”

The silver eyed boy obviously sees his own face, and simply answers. “Me.”

"He can recognize himself," she says, carrying on ignoring him and resuming her conversation with someone out of his perception. "No apparent problems."

"What is this place," he mutters under his breath, understanding he won’t get any answers from her.

 

* * *

 

They enter a large, dimly lit area fit with a dozen suspended chairs linked to computers. A bunch of its occupants are engaged in technical conversations that slightly exceed his understanding. From what he hears, he reckons they must be on something akin to a ship.

After a while, a woman in a red coat standing on the suspended structure’s highest section finally acknowledges his presence through a simple phrase. “Release him.”

Immediately, he feels the restraints on his body opening, and he sits up on his stretcher. Most of the technicians are more or less obviously staring at him now, along with the girl from earlier. The red woman who ordered his liberation is facing away from him.

Upon focusing on her, he notices she looks familiar to him. “Dawn-san…”

"Silver-kun," she says in a controlled voice while looking at one of her assistants. "I can call him that, right?"

"I suppose," her assistant states while looking at a bunch of computer screens. "His physiological data perfectly matches that of the Code Number 6 Boy."

He slowly stands up, noticing Dawn laid her eyes upon him. She appears to have become much more subtle in her body language.

"What about the HDS Choker?" she asks.

"It’s been fitted on him, as per your request, captain Dawn," her assistant answers.

That’s when he notices the warm metal collar around his neck. “What is that thing?”

No answer comes. Dawn calmly examines him, her expression colder than ever. She’s making him feel extremely uncomfortable.

After a while, she looks away from him, engaging in technical conversation with the other technicians again. Silver still is way too disoriented to understand what they’re talking about, but he notices a few words that alert him. “Avengers series,” “pillars of light,” “imminent destruction".

This doesn’t sound good.

"Dawn, can I help?"


	2. Part 02

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The situation isn’t good. The Avengers Series are closing in on the Second Daybreak again, causing major anxiety across the staff. And as for Silver-kun, he’s just as ignorant as ever. Dawn decides to change the rules of the game.

"The Avengers Series have located us again," White unnecessarily says as the Second Daybreak is brutally shaken up by an explosion on its starboard side. "There is a bunch of pillars of lights surrounding us. I suggest dispersing to avoid imminent destruction."

Dawn takes a deep breath. This day really is rotten. Not only has the boy awakened, automatically triggering a rather grim ambiance shift on the ship, but now they have to deal with these Avengers bastards again.

She takes a look at White. “We need to react quickly, captain Dawn” the young woman repeats. “The Avenger that is attacking us seems to be using a phase shift camouflage technique. Our sensors are unable to locate it. We can’t fight back. We have to run away.”

"Dawn," Silver asks from the room’s lowest floor, "can I help?"

She lowers her gaze in his direction again. His hopeful expression confirms he’s blissfully unaware of his sin. She doesn’t have time to explain the situation to him just now, though. “Silver-kun,” she says in as authoritative a voice as she can, “you will never help anyone again. So don’t even try.”

The boy’s expression quickly darkens; he looks down. “This should do for now,” she calmly says under her breath before turning to White again. “I’ll go talk to him later.”

White appears to be waiting for her orders. “It’s about time we gave everyone a little spark of hope again,” she says. “White-san, this time we aren’t going to run away. We are going to fly.”

She sees the obvious surprise in her friend’s blue eyes. “Yes,” she thinks, “this definitely is the right thing to do. We need to advance, we’ve been standing still for way too long.”

"W-we can’t fly yet," White manages to blurt out once the initial surprise is gone. "The engine ignition device isn’t ready yet, it won’t be ready for another two weeks. We can’t fly without it."

Dawn quietly holds her gaze, waiting for White to catch up on her.

"Unless… Captain Dawn, don’t tell me you’re gonna use the Deltas?!"

"Yellow-san?" Dawn shouts in her communicator device.

"Delta 04 isn’t ready yet," the teenager answers back in a disturbingly cheerful voice.

"Crystal-san?"

"Crystal-san?" Silver repeats. She consciously decides to just ignore him.

"I’m already on it," the young adult calmly replies. "I just need to make the engine turn on, right?"

"I’m counting on you," Dawn adds, confirming her orders.

"But… she won’t be able to breach the barrier around the main engine," White protests. "Plus, our engineers are working on it right now, shouldn’t we focus on not wasting resources?"

"Well," Crystal says from her Delta, "these people should retreat to somewhere safe. We can’t afford to waste time for their sake. I’m going to fire the engines on! Human Determination Device Delta 07, activate!"

"Alright," White resigns herself. "Everyone in the main engine room, evacuate! Captain Dawn, I hope you’re aware of how risky these initiatives are!"

Dawn doesn’t answer. She’s trembling. Although she’s pretty sure this is the right answer, she can’t help but fear another downfall. But she can’t afford to break down in front of the people who entrusted their futures to her.

 

* * *

 

In her Delta’s cockpit, Crystal is closely examining the Second Daybreak’s blueprints. She’s been living on the ship for a few years already, and she’s been piloting Delta 07 for even longer , but she never sortied underwater; she needs to adapt. “Am I cleared to use lance-type aura?” she asks after locating a potential weak spot in the armor’s structure. “I think I’ll need it in order to break into the engine room.”

"You are," Dawn’s strong voice immediately answers her. The captain sure grew much more determined, over the last few years. She’s a totally different person from the shaking girl she used to be.

"Roger," Crystal confirms after a few seconds. "I’m heading for the engine room."

 

* * *

 

Thanks to Crystal’s intervention, it takes the Second Daybreak’s engine a little under ninety seconds to start up. Dawn immediately orders an explosion-type aura discharge, in order to clear the Avenger’s pillars of light; right after this, she has the navigation technician take over the ship’s trajectory with a levitation-type aura. To everyone’s relief they start rising.

White seems relieved they managed to take off, but the situation isn’t over yet. The Avenger is definitely going to pursue.

"Everyone, brace yourselves," she says a split-second before the ship is brutally shaken by the creature’s tentacles. "We’re going to force it out of its phase-shift camouflage. Second Daybreak, rise higher!"

At this point, her assistant has long stopped protesting. She’s returned to calmly following along. Dawn has always preferred that side of White’s personality.

Eventually, the Avenger’s body emerges from the ocean, appearing in all its ugly beauty on one of Dawn’s control screens. “Prepare to bombard it with bomb-type aura projections,” she orders, not a doubt transpiring from her voice. They’re definitely going to make it, that’s not a question anymore.

The gunmen quickly oblige, aiming at the center of the creature’s body. “Adjustment is complete,” one of them declares after a few seconds.

"In that case, we’re ready to get rid of it," Dawn howls, her excitation showing. "Fire!"

The aura canons immediately cover the Avenger in aura bombs, and not ten seconds later, it explodes in a rain of blood. Dawn lets a long breath out.

"So, we actually are able to defeat gods," White states, visibly impressed. "The Second Daybreak sure is something."

 

* * *

 

"The captain is going to have a word with you, alone," his nurse tells him as his room’s door opens. She leaves the room.

"Good afternoon, Silver-kun," Dawn says upon appearing to him, still clad in her red coat. "How do you feel?"

He isn’t sure how to react. Wasn’t she trying to make him feel miserable not two hours ago?

"I’m… a little lost," he finally states when he realizes she’s waiting for him to say something. "I don’t understand anything, I don’t know this place, and above all, Blue isn’t here."

He feels his skin tremble, and curses himself for being this weak. Dawn doesn’t exactly look cheerful either. What happened to her?

"The person called Blue doesn’t exist anymore," she calmly states. "She’s dead, Silver-kun."

He takes a step back. No, that’s impossible. He saved her. She can’t be dead.

"How much do you remember before awakening on this ship?" she carefully asks.

He sits down, resting his back against the cold wall behind him. “At the very least, I’m pretty sure I did save her…”


	3. Part 03

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> So, the situation is this - your girlfriend’s dead. Deal with it, Silver-chan!

Silver reads a mixture of compassion and exasperation on Dawn’s face. She looks a little older than the girl he remembers… but more importantly, she really seems to have grown into a strong-willed leader. Just how long has he been asleep?

"Dawn-san, could you expl—"

"—Silver-kun," Dawn interrupts him, her voice surprisingly hard, "are you sure you want the truth? Moreover, will you be able to accept it?"

Silver blinks. What does Dawn mean? Why wouldn’t he be able to accept the truth? Then he remembers. He remembers the technician’s judging glares. He remembers how Dawn’s assistant barely acknowledged him as a human being. He remembers the constant distance his nurse keeps between them.

He remembers Blue’s embrace, and he realizes he’ll never feel it again.

Perhaps not knowing would be for the best…

… No. He needs to know. He hates not knowing. And even if the truth turns out to be horrible, he’ll do his best to accept it. He has to.

"I won’t be able to move on if I don’t know what happened," he finally answers. "Please tell me, Dawn-san. Tell me why everyone appears to have a grudge against me."

Dawn sighs. “Okay,” she says. “I’ll tell you what I know.”

 

* * *

 

Mamoswine lets out a low whimper upon recognizing the ruins in front of them. Dawn feels cold sweat on her back.

"This place…"

"Yes, Dawn-chan," Cynthia answers from her Garchomp’s back. "These are the Spear Pillars."

"But… why are they here?"

"He must have used the powers of a mythical Pokémon to bring them here," Cynthia says. "And as for their use…"

"The whole island is a canon," a familiar voice states from behind one of the columns. "He intends to vaporize the Eye of the World with it," Silver states while revealing himself. "Long time no see, Cynthia."

Dawn frowns. There he goes, ignoring her again. “Why does he want to do that?” Cynthia asks, not breaking a sweat.

"Apparently, the Eye is actually the nest of a mythical Pokémon," the red head replies. "It looks like he intends to capture that Pokémon."

His gaze meets Dawn’s. “If he manages to activate the canon, the atmosphere will be inundated with mercury vapors. You know what that means, right?”

"We just have to stop him before it comes to that," Cynthia immediately fires back, not giving Dawn time to think about the implications. The young girl can’t help but be grateful for her partner’s self-confidence - she hasn’t felt this scared in a pretty long while.

 

* * *

 

"Dawn-chan… Dawn-chan, please, open your eyes!"

She lets out a sigh, and slowly sits up. Cynthia is carefully examining her, visibly worried. “Are you okay… ?”

She nods. “What’s going on?”

"He… he managed to fire the canon," Cynthia explains, visibly not entirely stable herself. "Blue-san, Silver-kun, Sabine-san and Luna-san have all descended in the Eye to try and keep him from capturing the Pokémon at the bottom."

"I see… What about the mercury?"

Cynthia’s face darkens.

"It’s… looking rather grim. The vapors are particularly heavy, which is good news for us… but…"

Dawn feels tears roll down her cheeks. She doesn’t even fully understand how terrible these news are, but she does realize this will be the end of an era.

Cynthia suddenly clings to her before breaking down in tears. Dawn gently hugs her. “I’m here, Cynthia,” she repeats. “I’m here.”

 

* * *

 

Neither Sabine nor Luna appear to be willing to talk. The both of them simply fell to their knees upon appearing between the Spear Pillars, and refused to move or talk since then.

Cynthia is in no better state - she’s stopped crying and is now blankly staring at the stars. Dawn had never seen her partner in such a deep despair; she keeps on hugging her, unsure what to do.

Something is happening down there. The Eye has suddenly started shining an extremely bright red, and unbearable wails are now escaping it.

"This world is overflowing with sorrow," Blue’s voice suddenly echoes in Dawn’s head.

She starts looking around for the young woman, to no avail. “Blue-san? Where are you?”

"Its people are drowning in emptiness," the voice carries on as a naked female figure appears in front of Dawn. "Loneliness fills their hearts."

The figure’s traits sharpen, revealing Blue’s face.

The wailing momentarily stops.

"Good evening, Dawn-san."

The young girl doesn’t manage to answer. The vision is way too disturbing for her to react.

"I don’t have much time," she continues, her expression sad. "And unfortunately, the news I am bringing aren’t very good."

Dawn frowns. “What’s going on?”

"The Door of the Ark has opened," Blue states. "It is claiming the souls it once gave back."

"The Ark… What are you talking about?"

Blue’s face darkens.

"He only meant well," she carries on. "Please don’t blame him too much…"

The wailing resumes; Dawn hears splashing left and right. “This is goodbye, Dawn-san. I hope you’ll survive this all.”

 

* * *

 

"At that point," Dawn says, "I lost consciousness. The next thing I remember is waking up in the middle of a hospital, in a world devoid of Pokémon."

Silver’s trembling. “But… I only meant to bring Blue’s soul back… I didn’t mean for this to happen!”

Dawn looks away from him.

"Mankind won’t satisfy itself with an ‘it wasn’t on purpose’, Silver-kun. And to begin with, attempting to bring the dead back always is a selfish move."

He doesn’t know what to say. He barely manages to blurt an apology, which Dawn doesn’t even acknowledge.

"So, Silver-kun? Are you going to accept your sin?"


	4. Part 04

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Say, Silver-chan, would you like to become Crystal's pet?

"Silver-kun?"  
  
He feels terrible. Now that he understands, he really feels terrible. Their grudge finally seems justified - as a matter of fact, he's surprised nobody on the ship has wanted to punch him in the face up to now. Perhaps they don't care enough about him to think he's worth wasting the energy.   
  
His memory of that time still is a little cloudy, but he does clearly remember trying to save Blue - as a matter of fact, that's the only thing he remembers at this point. If that alone was already a sin, the rest doesn't even matter - he is guilty, full stop.  
  
"Silver-kun?" Dawn repeats once again, her voice sounding a little worried.  
  
"Okay," he replies, looking at his feet. "Okay, I screwed up. I'll acknowledge that. What now?"  
  
He looks up to her. She actually looks surprised.   
  
"Th-this world is... quite different from the one you've lived in up to now," Dawn starts. "I don't think there's much you could do to help, you are too undereducated about its ways. Just stay out the way."  
  
Silver sighs. "But I want to help... I don't want to be eternally stuck as the boy who brings disaster. I'll learn everything you want me to learn, I'll do everything you want me to do. Just don't let me become a--"  
  
"--I don't have time to teach you," Dawn interrupts him, her face determined. "I am this ship's captain. Its continued existence and governing are my responsibility. I can't afford to waste that much time on you."  
  
Silver looks down again. So he really is stuck.  
  
He sees and hears Dawn's feet turn away from him, but he doesn't manage to urge himself to react. She leaves him alone, probably intending to return to her duties.  
  
Another set of feet are approaching. These aren't her nurse's feet.  
  
"Greetings, Silver-kun," Crystal's soft voice says.  
  
He looks up, expecting to see his a desolated expression on his old friend's face. He's met with a single, staring eye. The stupor keeps him from answering her.  
  
"It sure has been a while, hasn't it?"  
  
Her voice hasn't changed. It still has that warm and inviting sound, that gave Silver his first impression of her back when they first met - that of a weak but hardworking Pokémon trainer.   
  
On the other hand, her face has changed so much he isn't even sure he'd have recognized her had they met in different circumstances. Of course, there's the eyepatch, and the seemingly hateful glare, but what shocks him the most is her hair. Her long, orange hair.  
  
The contrast is disturbing, way too disturbing for Silver to react.  
  
A smile forms on her mouth. A very, very wide grin that makes Silver want to disappear.  
  
Is that really Crystal?  
  
"I guess you have the right to be surprised," the ex top trainer says, still smiling. "I did change a little over the last few years. Had to adapt to this changed world you created."  
  
He looks away from her. Is she specifically trying to torture him, or has she just become a much meaner person? Hearing her sweet voice say such mean things to him pains him.  
  
Crystal calmly approaches him, puts one foot between his thighs and squats on his right leg. He's starting to tremble now.   
  
"Silver-kun?"  
  
He reluctantly looks at her again.  
  
"Good boy," she says, patting his head with a smirk. "You're lost, aren't you?"  
  
He frowns, unsure what to think. He isn't sure, but... isn't that the way she talked to her Pokémon back when she worked with Oak?  
  
She grabs some hair, and forces him to look straight at her. She isn't smiling anymore. "I'd like to hear your voice, Silver-kun. And if you don't intend to let me hear it, I'll just force you to use it. Do you understand?"  
  
'Dumbstruck' wouldn't even begin to describe his state. In other circumstances, he might have knocked her over... but right now, he's just scared. A few silent seconds pass, and he finally manages to pronounce something. "Yes."  
  
She smiles, and loosens her grip somewhat. "I assume Dawn-san told you about your sin?"  
  
He nods. "Y-yes, she did," he says when she tighten her grip again.  
  
"Are you satisfied with the current situation?"  
  
Tears start rolling on his cheeks. He's barely managing not to sob. "N-no, of course not! I hate this all!"  
  
She smiles even wider.  
  
"If you promise you'll obey me, I'll consider teaching you about this new world. What do you think?"

 

* * *

 

Yellow definitely is worried. The captain did greenlight this, but... she has doubts. "Good boy," she hears Crys's voice say through the surveillance feed she's spying on. "You're lost, aren't you?"  
  
She cuts the audio feed. She doesn't want to hear these words from Crys. Not when they're spoken for someone else than her.  
  
Silver isn't exactly looking like he intends to resist her. Or perhaps he's still too stunned to react. Yellow isn't sure. Either way, by the time the boy realizes exactly what it is that Crys intends to make him into, he'll have advanced too far to return. Probably.  
  
She walks away from the screen, and heads for the bathroom. She's off duty for the rest of the day, and she fully intends to use that time to relax a little. These last few weeks have been particularly straining on her.  
  
"Red, pour me a bath," she orders her personal assistant.  
  
"Certainly, Yellow-chan," her former crush's voice cheerfully answers her. "How hot would you like it?"  
  
She ponders for a few seconds. "Thirty eight degrees. With a lot of bubbles."  
  
"Roger," the voice says as she hears the water stream start.  
  
She removes her clothes. Leather jacket, blouse, boots, socks, shorts, panties. She takes some time to examine herself in her mirror. Among the Second Daybreak Delta pilots, she's the one the liquid platinum spared the most. Barring her now red eyes, she looks the same as she did four years ago. More importantly, she's somehow managed not to be affected by the mental contamination the others have been experiencing.   
  
Although Crys's newfound boldness has positive sides, Yellow can't help but feel a little guilty when they have their bodies blend on her bed. She knows for a fact the younger girl would never have considered her a potential romantic interest without the liquid platinum's interference.  
  
Nobody ever did. Not even him.  
  
  
  



End file.
